Brenda L. Ekstrom

Economic Impact of the Conservation Reserve Program in North Dakota

Abstract The short‐run economic impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in North Dakota are estimated by using an input‐output model together with results from a statewide survey of CRP participants. Net direct reductions in production expenditures and household income resulting from the program totaled

The Consequences of the Farm Crisis for Rural Communities

55 million, with about 62 percent of the effect occurring in the retail sector. The total impact of the program is about

EFFECT OF FARM FINANCIAL STRESS ON OFF-FARM WORK BEHAVIOR OF FARM OPERATORS AND SPOUSES IN NORTH DAKOTA

141 million, or only about 0.5 percent of the states baseline economic activity. Local areas with high concentration of CRP land and businesses that depend heavily on farm input sales may be affected disproportionately.

Farm Families in Transition: Implications for Rural

The farm financial crisis of the 1980s will change forever the face of communities in rural America. The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically some of the more important changes that are occurring as a result of the farm crisis and to discuss how these changes affect rural community development needs. Specifically the paper examines: (1) the characteristics of those failing in agriculture, (2) changes in farm production practices resulting from the crisis and (3) the problems being experienced by farmers and their families. For each of these changes the implications for businesses and services in rural communities are discussed. It was found that farmers who were less well-educated and innovative and who were operating smaller farms were more likely than others to leave agriculture as a result of the farm crisis. Further, it appears that farmers leaving agriculture are not drawn randomly from the population of financially stressed farmers, but are those with particularly disadvantaged socioecono...

Expansion and Adaptation of the North Dakota Economic-Demographic Assessment Model (NEDAM) For Wyoming: Technical Description

Discriminant and regression analysis are used to examine the effects of selected individual, family, farm, area, and financial characteristics on off-farm work behavior of farm operators and their spouses. Data are from a 1985 survey of 933 farm operators. Results support the importance of individual (e.g., age, education), family, and farm characteristics in determining off-farm work participation. No consistent relationship was found, however, between area characteristics (e.g., proximity to larger cities) and off-farm work. Perhaps the most salient finding was the consistent influence of financial variables on off-farm work behavior of both operators and spouses.

Landowner characteristics and the economic impact of the conservation reserve program in North Dakota

This study explores the characteristics of North Dakota families who quit farming between 1980 and 1986 for economic reasons. It describes (1) the demographic characteristics of former operators as well as the structural and financial characteristics of their former farms, (2) the financial circumstances of their departure from farming and the support systems they used in their transition, and (3) their current employment situation and perceived family financial well-being. These data are compared with those of a cross section of households that were operating farms in the state in 1986. The findings clearly indicate that significant numbers of farm families are making the transition to other occupations and that, in many cases, this transition involves migrating to urban areas. Displaced farmers who chose to leave their community were typically younger, more educated, and had less equity than those who chose to stay. Such selective migration poses numerous negative consequences for communities, such as d...